New Orange Beach library director passionate about his profession

View full sizeGet to Know Steven Gillis, new director of the Orange Beach Public Library.

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- Steven Gillis of Orange Beach is excited to start his new job as Orange Beach Public Library’s director. The excitement is a result of his love for the profession and the quality of library Orange Beach has to offer.

Gillis has not always had a desire to be a librarian. After his parents’ deaths when he was 18, Gillis faced a trying time, which resulted in his dropping out of school. Later, he started working as a security monitor at night at the University of Alabama. The benefit of working for the university, Gillis earned three free credit hours of school.

“I was able to take one or two classes at a time,” Gillis said.

He was on track to earn his English degree, but began to wonder what he would do with that degree. Then a friend told him about library school, and the benefits available with that education. This information propelled him into his career. His focus turned to earning a master’s degree in library and information studies.

“I made sure to get a scholarship to go to grad school,” Gillis said. “I was driven to be a librarian.”

After earning his master’s, Gillis worked at Tuscaloosa Public Library in reference, then worked with reference services at Albert L. Scott Public Library in Alabaster for more than four years.

On Nov. 1, Gillis began his job as the director of the Orange Beach Public Library, his first job as a director.

“The library was the first library in Alabama to receive a blue ribbon,” Gillis said about the recognition awarded by the Alabama Public Library System for superior library standards. “As far as statistics go, you can’t get a better library. I’m very happy.”

During his years as a librarian, Gillis has found his role important and exciting.

“There are two wonderful things about being a reference librarian,” Gillis said. “You’re paid to be a know-it-all. My job is to find the information. You’re a portal or a gateway to something someone has a passion about. It is a beautiful thing.”

Gillis said he did not realize the impact his job had on others. He remembers patrons coming in day after day getting help with their cover letters or resumes, and then one day they aren’t there. Gillis said he knows when they aren’t there, then they must have gotten the job.

One particular event that has impacted Gillis was a conversation he had with a high school student. The advice he gave her for her high school career in preparation for college resulted in that patron attending college.

Gillis later discovered the student was the first in her family to attend college, when she later read a letter before the city council stating that Gillis was the reason she attended college.

This impact on the community further drives his love for the profession.

In addition to his love for being a librarian, Gillis enjoys capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines dancing. This interest stemmed from his involvement in martial arts and self-defense as a teenager.

“They don’t approach [Capoeira] as combat,” Gillis said. “You’re dancing with your partner. It’s more important to keep the dance going. It has all the beauty and none of the ego.”

As Gillis starts a new chapter of his career in Orange Beach, his future goals are more personal.

“I’m open to find to love,” Gillis said. “That’s really what I want to find — someone to spend the rest of my life.”